- France’s first lady Brigitte Macron faced accusations of being a transgender woman
- Two conspiracy theorists are being sued over claims
- Defamation case comes as France faces important election
The trial of two women who made false claims that France’s first lady Brigitte Macron was transgender, sparking conspiracy theories among the far right, began Wednesday.
President Emmanuel Macron’s wife sued self-proclaimed spiritual medium Amandine Roy and conspiracy theorist Natacha Rey for posting a four-hour video on YouTube in which she claimed she had once been a man called ‘Jean-Michel’ , which went viral weeks before the 2022 presidential election.
The defamation case began as Macron and his Renaissance party were rushing to prepare for early elections that were called following a massive far-right victory during European Parliament elections earlier this month.
The 49-year-old medium interviewed Rey for hours on her YouTube channel, who did not attend the start of the trial, citing an illness, in which she ranted about the ‘state lie’ and the ‘scam’ that she claimed to have discovered.
Rey was “desperate to share her work,” said Roy, who had simply “acceded to her request.”
France’s first lady Brigitte Macron (pictured) is suing two women for claiming she was a transgender woman.
Self-proclaimed spiritual medium Amandine Roy posted a four-hour video on YouTube allowing a conspiracy theorist to make false claims.
Conspiracy theorist Natacha Rey (pictured) claimed that Brigitte Macron was born a man
Despite this claim to agree with Rey, Roy said the conspirator “had spent three years investigating, it’s not like she took her hat off her sleeve.”
“What I regret is that this has not been addressed and investigated by the mainstream media,” said Roy, who stated that he could not “hide” such a “serious” issue.
Neither the president, 46, nor the first lady, 71, were in court. She demands 10,000 euros in compensation for her and her brother Jean-Michel, who, she claims, was caught up in the conspiracy.
Following the video’s release, online theorists accused the first lady, formerly Brigitte Trogneux, of never existing, claiming that her brother Jean-Michel had changed gender and assumed a new identity.
The false claim also led to more serious allegations of child abuse against France’s first lady.
Emmanuel Macron (pictured) is also having to deal with a frantic electoral battle following his decision to call early elections.
Neither the president, 46, nor the first lady, 71, were in court
“Prejudice is enormous, it exploded everywhere,” said Brigitte Macron’s lawyer, Jean Ennochi.
The misinformation spread even to the United States, where Brigitte Macron was attacked in a now-deleted YouTube video ahead of the November election.
Brigitte Macron is one of a group of influential women – including former US first lady Michelle Obama and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – who have been victims of the growing trend of misinformation about their gender or sexuality to mock them or humiliate them.
The decision on the case will be made on September 12.
Meanwhile, the first lady’s husband has to face a frenetic electoral battle after his decision to call early elections, which took many by surprise.
The two-round elections will be held on June 30 and July 7. Many are concerned that the far right in France will rise to power, given their surprise victory in the European Parliament elections earlier this month.